Another carrier has joined the free Wi-Fi bandwagon (not that I’m complaining).
In collaboration with Bell Canada, Air Canada has announced effective immediately that it will offer free high-speed Wi-Fi access to most flights operating within North America, Mexico and the Caribbean.
The service will be offered on all Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge and on Air Canada Express flights operated with CRJ900 aircraft, representing 88% of its fleet.
“Quality connectivity has become indispensable for all travelers. Starting today we’re thrilled to offer complimentary Wi-Fi on North American, Mexican and Caribbean flights for Aeroplan Members, by partnering with Bell,” said Mark Nasr, Executive Vice President & Chief Operations Officer at Air Canada.
“This initiative underscores Air Canada’s focus on elevating the customer experience, with leadership in providing streaming quality connectivity, at a pace unmatched by other airlines — at home and around the world. We now offer Wi-Fi on 88 per cent of our fleet, with the remaining installations to be completed by early 2026. This will include an industry first with the upcoming launch of Wi-Fi on Air Canada Express Q400s serving Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport.”
In order to get free Wi-Fi access, passengers will be required to sign up for a free Aeroplan loyalty account (if they don’t have one already). The airline also requires that you associate your loyalty number with your ticket before or during check-in. If you skip this step, you’ll have to pay a flat fee if you want internet access during your flight.
Air Canada will soon start work outfitting its fleet of Embraer E175s and De Havilland Q400s. The Q400 upgrade is big news for travelers out of Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport as they’ll now have one more area to compete in against Porter Airlines.
Porter uses Viasat, and promises download speeds greater than 12 Mbps, with real world tests usually capping out around 25 Mbps. If all works as it should, Air Canada’s speeds should be much faster.
As for its international customers, the Canadian carrier is aiming for 2026, and will continue offering free texting in the meantime, but again, you’ll need an Aeroplan account to gain access to this benefit.
Air Canada hasn’t jumped on the Starlink train, but instead uses Intelsat’s 2Ku. It’s not as fast, but is still relatively speedy with download speeds averaging 50-70 Mbps.
